Married Strangers (complete)

4. Night in the wild

Both men waited and waited but no car came along. The road was deserted, maybe one or two cars would come passing by every day. Not knowing how far it was till they met any signs of life, they knew they might have to spend the night there.

They sat on the hood of the car, watching the sun set slowly. "In all my life, this is the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen, whether live or in pictures. And I've seen my fair share of sunsets". Yibo looked up ahead as he spoke.

After a while, Xiao Zhan answered, "This doesn't even come close to the one in Chongqing, my hometown. You should come see it sometime if you love the sunset so much".

"No matter how beautiful the sunset is, it would always bring me sad memories. This...", Yibo pointed towards the direction of the sun, "...is proof of that".

Xiao Zhan turned to look at him and he continued speaking, his voice low, if there was even the slightest sound, Xiao Zhan may not hear him. "My ex collected pictures of the sunset. No matter where I was, I always sent her a picture when I came across one worth photographing. She seemed to have a certain affinity towards the setting sun. When I was preparing to propose, I took her to the place where she loved watching the sun set the most. I hired a photographer to 'capture the moment'", he let out a chuckle, mocking himself as he said that and a tear drop flowed down his face. He quickly rubbed it off and continued in a slightly higher tone.

"I went on one knee and asked her to marry me, she said no and the photographer did such a good job, he captured the exact moment she said no. Till date, whenever I look at that picture, I can almost hear her voice".

Yibo kept quiet after that. Xiao Zhan knew he ought to say something to console him. Looking at him, his eyes were full, tears would start dropping soon. Xiao Zhan tried to lighten up the moment and teased, "You're crying over your ex in the presence of your husband. Do you not value our love?"

Saying that did the trick, Yibo laughed and Zhan was glad that tense moment had passed. Yibo lay down, resting his head on Xiao Zhan's laps. "You should console me, not tease me. I can't believe I have to teach you this. No wonder we're getting a divorce". Both men said nothing after that. Yibo closed his eyes, thinking that watching the sunset with Xiao Zhan didn't seem so bad. Soon Zhan noticed Yibo's breathing had evened out. He fell asleep. He must have really been tired.

As he slept, Xiao Zhan stroked his hair, admiring his beautiful jaw line. Too bad Yibo was straight, he was sure he would have pursued him if he wasn't that way. He wasn't going to take chances until he was sure the person could be with a man. Ex-girlfriend? He would shower him with so much love, Yibo would completely forget her existence.

He didn't know much about Yibo. He figured he'd ask for his contact when he wakes up so they can meet up back at home. He was sure he wanted them to continue being friends.

From the angle Zhan was sitting, he could see Yibo's eye lashes were wet. For some reason, seeing Yibo cry over her made him unhappy in his heart. What was so special about her that made Yibo like her so much? In his life, he never asked anyone out, could it be that he just needed to boost his self-esteem to enable him realize just how handsome, how special and how...lovable he is?

He wanted to wipe his tears, hold him in a tight hug and tell him all was going to be fine. If this was the person his father was urging him to get married to, Zhan would not even put up a fight. Remembering the mess back at home, Zhan thought it was best not to drag Yibo into it. Besides, any relationship Yibo got into at the moment was bound to be treated as a rebound.

Unknown to Xiao Zhan, he already considered Yibo a suitable partner for himself.

...

Yibo's lashes kept shaking even as he slept. He saw himself as a child, seated on the floor of a moving school bus. He was accompanied by 12 other children who happened to be his classmates. As he sat, he watched his homeroom teacher who was sitting on the floor opposite him wrinkle her face, he could tell she was in pain as she clutched her stomach. Whenever they hit any rough spot on the road, she would whimper in pain. Her dress was stained in red, she assured them it was alright, they just needed to sit still.

That scene faded away and the next scene that unfolded before Yibo's eyes was one that brought a bit of relief. They were surrounded by police vehicles, the siren from an ambulance kept blaring. He watched as some men in white carried his teacher on some sort of bed and took her into the ambulance. Her eyes were wide open, seemingly looking deep into his eyes but he could tell they no longer contained their usual warmth. Yibo had never seen her this way. He reached out to touch her, she felt almost as cold as ice. Yibo suddenly shuddered.

Yibo who didn't plan to fall asleep suddenly woke up feeling cold all over his body, all around him was pitch black. It was windy and the air was cool. Yibo was almost sure it was going to rain. Remembering the 'dream' he just had, he longed to be somewhere...safe, somewhere not out in the open. Xiao Zhan wanted to remain out in the open but Yibo was uncomfortable. He felt staying inside the car was safer. The more Xiao Zhan tried to convince him, the more irritated he got. Sensing his mood gradually becoming hostile, Xiao Zhan didn't push further and accompanied him inside.

In the car, Zhan wanted the windows down but Yibo preferred them tightly shut. Xiao Zhan tried to reason with him, saying they could get short of oxygen so Yibo agreed to open up one window just enough for one's pinky finger to pass through. Xiao Zhan noticed Yibo probably had some sort of bitter experience that made him so afraid.

Soon it was hot, almost unbearably hot in the car, Zhan asked Yibo to open up the windows a bit more, asking him what could possibly happen.

"We could get kidnapped, we could get attached and killed by a psychopath, we could be attacked by wild animals and get torn to pieces. Everything could go wrong, how could you not see that".

Xiao Zhan figured it was best to act with caution, he could tell Yibo was paranoid and he needed to calm down. He tried to make small talk but it looked like Yibo was far too upset to talk with him. The only remedy was to get him out of here as soon as he could.

As they spoke, Xiao Zhan saw a car light heading towards their direction. He wanted to go out and wave for help but Yibo held him down.

"Xiao Zhan, have you been listening to me?", this time, Yibo's voice held no ounce of the softness he had shown Zhan all through the journey.

"Yibo, we need help. Someone has to get us out of here in one way or the other. Just stay put. Lock the door while I go out". Zhan moved to open the door again but Yibo pulled him back and they soon got into a struggle, Xiao Zhan tried to open the door to ask for help from the oncoming vehicle while Yibo tried his hardest to stop him from opening the door. During their struggle, the vehicle passed by them, slowing down when it got close. Probably since no one asked for help, it decided to drive past them, speeding up as it left.

Since they got stranded out here, this was the first vehicle that had come along. Who knows when the next one would. As much as Xiao Zhan understood Yibo's fears, he knew sitting in the car all night long wasn't particularly safe. If there was indeed a killer on the loose, aren't they prey just waiting to be pounced on? Weren't they making it easy for the other person? Xiao Zhan felt slightly disappointed.

......

"Xiao Zhan", Yibo called out to him but he was too deep in thoughts that he didn't hear him until the 3rd call.

"Are you offended because I stopped you, I was only looking out for you, besides our chances of getting help are better during the day".

Xiao Zhan smiled and nodded

Not long after, they heard a bang on the roof of their car.